Border Inspection
The noise at the Tengbang and Taran boxing ring was deafening.
The smells of sweat, blood, and screams mingled together as two boxers in the iron cage engaged in hand-to-hand combat, blood droplets splattering onto the blood-stained ropes with each heavy blow.
Amidst the bustling crowd, Xigong slowly twirled a string of ebony prayer beads, his eyes occasionally glancing at the boxing ring as he made his way forward.
Blaise followed behind him like a silent shadow, always stopping half a step behind Sigon, making way for him wherever he went.
As they approached the door, Sigon paused. Blaise understood, turned, glanced at the adjacent arena, and beckoned. Immediately, someone came to prepare his things.
The heavy, ornate door was pushed open silently, and cheap cloth shoes stained with mud stepped inside. As the door closed, the noisy background noise was immediately cut off, leaving only the smell of cigar smoke and whiskey inside.
"I'm not late, am I?"
Pom La Song stood up, holding his wine, and made a perfunctory gesture of respect: "It's not too late."
Sigon glanced inside and saw Miles sitting on a large leather sofa, wearing a well-tailored dark shirt. The wound on the side of his face stretched from his cheekbone to his jaw; the stitches had just been removed, and the scar was slightly raised. Miles didn't look up when people arrived, but he just quietly watched the boxing match, though it was clear that his mind wasn't on the fight.
“We have received General Zowin’s concern. The patent transfer has not yet been fully decided, but the machines in Gan Valley are running day and night, so there is enough quantity of this batch of new drugs produced by working overtime.” Xigong paused, implying something, “However, General Zowin and the two bosses will have to solve the minor troubles on the transportation route.”
Ponglason put down his glass, his smile unchanged: "What are we? At most, we're just cargo carriers; time is the most expensive cost."
Miles responded, "Whether by water or land, Gan Valley's production line can guarantee the quantity, and Dale Group can guarantee the transportation. Since General Zowin has decided to let us go by land first, the issue of border checks is the most critical. All parties need to ensure that there are no accidents on any of the transportation routes."
Xigong chuckled softly, "In Gan Valley, we only trust what we have in our hands. As long as the general can handle the external affairs, that's fine. As for the internal affairs," he tilted his head slightly, his gaze falling on the boxing match outside, "we have the most reliable safety net."
The previous match had just ended, the loser dragged off the stage, leaving behind a pool of sweat and blood. The cage door opened again, and Blaze bent down and crawled under the ropes. The moment he stood up, the entire cage seemed to shrink. His bare upper body was muscular and well-defined, and the black tattoos and countless scars and gunshot wounds covering his back made him look like a ruthless bandit who had come to reap heads.
The bell rang.
The burly man on stage was somewhat intimidated, but he still roared and charged forward, his fist whistling as it aimed at Blaze's head. Blaze reacted faster than expected; he tilted his head slightly, the heavy fist whistling past his cheekbone. After deflecting the clumsy follow-up hook with his left arm, he slashed hard at the outside of Blaze's knee. With a muffled "crack," the burly man's fierce expression was instantly twisted by excruciating pain, his massive body staggering as his center of gravity collapsed.
Blaze gave him no chance to catch his breath. A precise, short jab, like a cannonball, landed squarely on his opponent's nose, which was gaping open in pain. Blood gushed from the burly man's nostrils, and he staggered back several steps before his legs gave way and he collapsed to his knees.
Without a referee, killing someone would only be for entertainment, but Blaze did not take any further action. Instead, he turned around and shook the bell.
After a brief silence, the audience outside the stadium erupted in even more frenzied screams.
Blaise's face remained expressionless. After wiping his sweat with a towel, he looked past the throng of people and gazed at the group of people talking behind the glass window.
Seeing this, Pomlason's smile deepened: "General Zowin also believes that the entire transportation route from the production line to the loading station needs to be overseen by someone, and there is no one more suitable than Blaise. Don't you agree, Miles?"
Miles watched Blaise in the ring, his brow furrowing unconsciously. For a fleeting moment, he felt Blaise seemed like a different person. Even though he was fighting the most ferocious underground boxing, it felt like Blaise was deliberately holding back something. For someone like Blaise, anything that could make him quiet down and lie low was definitely not a good thing.
“Miles?” Pomrasong asked again.
Miles snapped out of his reverie, put down his glass, and replied casually, "Then let's arrange it this way. We'll go by land first, and if we can get past the third checkpoint, there won't be any problems."
*
The third border checkpoint in Tengbang.
Inside the meeting room, behind a heavy solid wood conference table sat Zowen, dressed in casual clothes. Standing opposite him was the liaison officer from the Lanman Border Police Station. Behind the liaison officer were the two people he didn't really want to see.
“I remember the last time I saw Chief Patton was more than twenty years ago. Back then, you were just a naked little kid. Look at you now, all grown up, and you look really dashing in this outfit.” Zowin said with a smile, his eyes lingering on Milo next to Jesse.
Based on rank, Jesse had absolutely no chance of speaking to Zowin face-to-face. Jesse knew that Zowin was only willing to see him because of Barton, which made him feel inexplicably uncomfortable. But when he saw Milo beside him, he could suppress his discomfort and even say those things that he usually found disgusting and hypocritical.
"General Zowin, you've done an excellent job in the anti-drug operation. However, we've recently received some high-level information that several trucks posing as transporting medical supplies may be smuggling illegal items along the border. According to the anti-drug and transnational crime agreement we signed earlier, once these four medical convoys, numbered AX-7 to AX-10, enter the designated port on the Lanman side, we need to send people there to conduct random inspections with you. We must follow the proper procedures to ensure that our hard work is carried out cleanly and that no one takes advantage of the situation."
General Zowin smiled at Jesse, his face deeply lined with wrinkles, exuding an imposing aura even without anger: "My convoy is transporting legitimate medical supplies, and every list has been verified. Is the intelligence you mentioned not some malicious slander?"
“General, a transparent and efficient joint inspection is actually the best way to dispel the rumors,” Milo said at the right time, his tone calm. “As an international medical company, Green Contract is willing to provide technical assistance to ensure the professionalism and speed of the inspection, which is a win-win situation for everyone.”
General Zowin smiled knowingly: "Not long ago, you invested such a large sum of money in Tengbang, and now you're offering technical assistance. Do you know how the news reports refer to you?" Zowin tapped Milo's head: "A great philanthropist."
Milo laughed and said, "Perhaps it's not charity, it's an investment."
Zowin's smile turned slightly colder: "Investment? For whom?"
Before Jesse could speak, Milo subtly preemptively answered, "It could be for the general, but I don't know if the general would even look at money from people like us?"
Upon hearing this, Zowin raised an eyebrow: "If you were afraid of offending me, you wouldn't have come today, and Barton wouldn't have sent his son to accompany you. It's just a random check; do you really need to check at the designated port of Lanman? Wouldn't it be fine to check at the third checkpoint in Taran? If anything is found after the Tengbang checkpoint, I can't handle it."
Jesse thought for a moment and nodded: "That works too."
Zowin raised an eyebrow: "But let me make this clear first, your people can only watch, not fight. If anything unexpected happens, I can't control the situation. Do you understand?"
Milo understood. Zowin meant that the inspection was just a formality, a way to save face for Chief Patton and avoid a too-awkward refusal, but if things got serious and the Lanman border control found something, they would have to step in and resolve the issue. Zowin had essentially passed the buck back to them; agreeing was one thing, refusing was another.
Jesse wanted to speak, but seeing that Milo was still thinking about something, he didn't answer for a moment.
At the entrance and exit of the third checkpoint, heavily armed border control officers stood ready. Not far away, two convoys of trucks covered with thick tarpaulins roared in from one behind the other, approaching the narrow passage of the checkpoint almost simultaneously. Border control immediately raised their flags to signal them to stop, making quite a commotion. A man hurried from the Tengbang outpost to the command observation platform, and soon, a doorbell rang in Zovin's office.
Zowin pressed the answer button.
"General, the border control in Lanman has stopped all four of our vehicles and is demanding an on-site inspection."
Zowin looked at the two people in front of him with a half-smile: "Didn't we agree on random checks? Why are you stopping everyone now? Did you come here with the answers to your questions?"
The words were quite blunt, which surprised Jesse, but he managed to stay calm: "Under normal circumstances, only convoys that attempt to break through checkpoints or are suspected of attempting to do so will be forcibly stopped by Lanman Border Inspection."
"You mean, my people will charge my own card?"
Jesse was taken aback by the question, and Milo, who had been quiet all along, suddenly said in a low voice, "I'm afraid it's not the general's men who are coming."
Zowin didn't ask any more questions. He stood up straight and strode towards the edge of the observation platform, looking down at the checkpoint.
Jesse and Milo followed closely behind, standing on the platform.
The two lanes abruptly merged into one just ten meters from the checkpoint gate, with the lead vehicles of the two convoys driving almost side by side.
Leading the way were three dark green trucks, their cargo beds covered with heavy tarpaulins, the AX series serial numbers faintly visible on their bodies. Following closely behind was another convoy of several off-road vehicles, their windows closed, heat billowing from their hoods under the blazing sun.
The door of the lead truck in the convoy opened, and a man, sweating profusely, jumped out and shouted at the head of the Lanman border inspection station: "What's going on? Weren't we checked earlier? Why are we being checked again now? You've delayed my business, can you take responsibility for that!"
Milo narrowed his eyes slightly.
It's Token. The Tengbang broker he got involved with last time through Nonai's connections. Logically speaking, Token is one of Ponlasong's men, but just a tool lacking both ability and ambition. How did this tool, unrelated to the core struggle, end up here?
The thick bulletproof glass window of the command post was pushed open. When Zowin saw Token, he raised his eyebrows and calmly swept his gaze over the several transport vehicles covered with canvas. He raised his right hand and waved lightly in the direction of the lead vehicle.
The people at the Tengbang checkpoint immediately understood and jogged forward, giving Token a clear hand signal. Token reluctantly stepped aside, signaled the vehicle to move forward, and drove into the checkpoint's entrance gate first.
The head of the Lanman border inspection station, with a cold face, insisted on checking the documents and using sniffing equipment. Token grumbled, but still cooperated by having the soldiers lift a corner of the canvas of the first vehicle, revealing neatly stacked, marked standard medical kits inside.
Zowin said to Jesse and Milo by the window, "Today I've verified your identities in person, so you can give Chief Patton a good report, right?"
The sniffer dogs and portable scanner worked quickly, and nothing unusual was found.
Seeing the green light continuously ringing below, Jesse frowned slightly.
Milo suddenly spoke up: "The AX series designation doesn't refer to the transport vehicle, but rather the cargo being transported, right? What if the vehicle and cargo are separated?"
Jesse was startled.
Milo, however, was already looking at Zowin: "Since the two trucks entered the site at the same time, both convoys should have been inspected."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
